AutoFlight V880CG (prototype)

V880CG (prototype)
AutoFlight 
Shanghai, China
www.autoflight.com

Mr. Tian Yu founded AutoFlight in 2016 and is headquartered in Shanghai, China. AutoFlight is an aviation technology company specialized in the research and development of autonomous flight and electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) technology and aircraft manufacturing. AutoFlight has set up research and development facilities in Munich, Germany and in Shenzhen, China, and have several manufacturing facilities across China. Mr. Tian Yu is also the founder of Yuneec, the predecessor of AutoFlight, which was a world leader in consumer drones and the manufacturer of the e-Spyder single-seat electric ultralight and E430 two-seat electric ultralight which first flew in June 2009.

Safety and reliability is a top priority for AutoFlight and is applying interdisciplinary technologies to their aviation products including new materials, artificial intelligence, autonomous technology, sense and avoid in the air technology, multi-redundant flight control system, microelectronics, 4G and 5G telecommunication for multi-channel communication, ground radar assisted remote takeoff and landing function and many other technologies.

V880CG air cargo eVTOL prototype aircraft
The AutoFlight V880CG is an uncrewed heavy-lift cargo-only electric eVTOL full scale prototype aircraft which has eight propellers for vertical flight and one pusher propeller for forward flight and the aircraft has canard wings. The aircraft has a cargo pod underneath the main fuselage which is detachable and has a maximum takeoff weight of 1,000 kg (2,205 lb).

The advantage of having a detachable pod for cargo is it makes loading and unloading faster, assuming there are multiple cargo pods at each landing site. In addition, having fixed wings, fixed propellers and fixed landing gear keeps the aircraft less expensive to manufacture, less expensive to maintain, increases the safety of the aircraft and increases the range of the aircraft. Less moving parts means less weight on an aircraft. The aircraft has one fixed forward landing skid and two fixed rear wheels. The cruise speed, cruise altitude and other flight specifications were not revealed to the public. The aircraft was revealed to the public in the fall of 2019.

Specifications:

• Aircraft type: eVTOL prototype heavy-lift cargo drone
• Piloting: Remote
• Capacity: Cargo only (no pilot)
• Cargo pod: Attached to the bottom of the aircraft
• Maximum takeoff weight: 1,000 kg (2,205 lb)
• Propellers: 9 propellers (8 VTOL propellers, 1 pusher propeller for forward flight)
• Electric motors: 9 electric motors
• Wings: Canard wings, the rear main wing has winglets
• Tail: Two downward ventral fins at the end of each boom
• Landing gear: 1 forward fixed landing skid and 2 rear fixed wheels
• Safety features: Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP), means having multiple propellers and motors on the aircraft which provides safety through redundancy for its passengers or cargo. If one, two or more motors or propellers fail, the other working motors and propellers can safely land the aircraft.

Related Aircraft:

• AutoFlight Albatross V400 (production model)
• AutoFlight BAT600 (defunct)
• AutoFlight Carryall V2000CG (production model)
• AutoFlight F240 Hot Wheels (defunct)
• AutoFlight Firefighting (production model)
• AutoFlight Prosperty (production model)
• AutoFlight Prosperity I V1500M (prototype)
• AutoFlight V600 (prototype)
• AutoFlight V1000 (prototype)
• AutoFlight V1200 (concept design)

Company Insights:

• Pitchbook
• Crunchbase
• Tracxn

Resources:

• Autoflight website
• Autoflight YouTube Channel
• Autoflight Instagram
• Autoflight LinkedIn
• Article: AutoFlightX Breaks Cover, evtol.news, Apr. 18, 2019
• Article: E Flight Forum In Jhijiazhuan, E-flight Journal, Oct. 18, 2019
• Article: AutoFlightX Prepares for Takeoff, Vertiflite, Nov/Dec 2019
• Article: AutoFlightX Nabs Investment From TDK Ventures, Clean Technica, Feb. 5, 2020